Arrowhead had an explosive start to the year when Helldivers 2 launched, as the game quickly opened to positive reviews and sales. With that momentum–and one controversial decision by Sony–behind it, Arrowhead is looking to the future as it continues to establish its identity while defying industry norms.
Part of this strategy includes the appointment of Shams Jorjani as Arrowhead’s CEO, allowing the studio’s chief creative officer and former CEO Johan Pilestedt to focus on creating games. Together, the two partners aim to turn Arrowhead into the next From Software or Blizzard.
For now, Arrowhead plans to remain independent and it doesn’t foresee a massive increase in its workforce. “We pride ourselves on being an independent studio,” Pilestedt said to GamesIndustry.Biz. “We have to see what the future holds, but there’s nothing in the plans where we want to be acquired by somebody. I want to see how high we can fly. And bringing Shams on board, we have a good potential to realize that future of turning into the next From Software or Blizzard.”
Jorjani added that the studio still aims to make “really great co-op games” and transform Arrowhead into a big name in the games industry. “When we were growing up, we really wanted to work at Blizzard, it was one of the bucket list places to work at. I think Arrowhead has the potential to be that,” Jorjani said. “But that doesn’t mean we have to be a 500-person company. In fact, a 500-person company is quite painful in a lot of ways. We will see growth, but growth as a means to an ends, not as an end itself. We don’t have plans to go public. None of those shenanigans. Measured growth that allows us to make amazing games and be a good place to work.”
Pilestedt added that the two don’t run the company for monetary gain, as the “humbleness and the desire to just make great games” is the driving force behind them.
Helldivers 2 has been very successful on PC and PS5, as Sony revealed that the game sold 12 million units at launch to become the fastest-selling PlayStation game of all time. This eclipses the previous record set by God of War Ragnarok, which sold 5 million copies in the first week. So far, Helldivers 2 is the best-selling game of 2024 in the US.
